Help Needed: Making command shortcuts meet the icons drawn on my new keyboard!

Hi Mac Forum!

My iMac got the dreaded Question Mark Folder a month ago after four years of wonderful working. To install the new hard drive, boot in safe mode and resolve etc. I had to buy a wired keyboard as I only had a wireless one with the original computer.

This wired keyboard obviously comes with shortcuts drawn on - primarily F7-F12 feature buttons I would like to use for pausing, changing tracks and increasing and decreasing the volume on my music - as the icons on these keys on the physical keyboard indicate. However, when I press the keys completely different things happen!

I've already tried going to 'Keyboard & Mouse' under System Preferences and although i put the brightness back to F1 and F2, as on my keyboard, there was no listed option to alter the functions of the keys F7-F12. Please can someone tell me how I can get these keys to do what they're supposed to, I'm really stuck!

Thanks, Goose

Sorry - I should just make clear that there was a massive list of commands that i could have attached to the keys F7-F12, but nowhere could i find the ability to attach those keys to the music related options. It's not that I can't change what the keys do, it's that I can't change them to what the icons on the physical keyboard advise that those particular keys be used for!

You could try deleting the prefs file, forcing the mac to re-identify the keyboard and settings its default keys

Locate the file

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.keyboardtype.plist

Unattach the keyboard and use the mouse to move it to the trash

Re-attach the keyboard and it should re-identify it

louishen said:

You could try deleting the prefs file, forcing the mac to re-identify the keyboard and settings its default keys

Locate the file

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.keyboardtype.plist

Unattach the keyboard and use the mouse to move it to the trash

Re-attach the keyboard and it should re-identify it

Click to expand...

There is no such file in my Preferences... There's a 'Keyboard Layout' folder but that is empty.

Is this an Apple keyboard? Look in System Preferences/ Keyboard and make sure "Use F keys as standard function keys" is not checked.